After watching today's front page video about a historian that discussed the appearance and buildings of Rome, I wondered about what it would actually be like to visit Rome and, of all things, visit the Emperor.
This made me think - are there letters, journals, or documents that detail a person's trip to see Caesar? This person would likely be a soldier, politician, dignitary, or entrepreneur. Of all the guests the Emperors entertained, surely a few recorded their experience in detail!
This is merely an intellectual curiosity. If anyone knows of sources, books, etc. I'd greatly appreciate the information.
There are published letters of Pliny the Younger, who was a governor in the Roman East (Bithynia, along the northern coast of modern day Turkey), many of which are between Pliny and the Emperor Trajan. I'm pretty sure those letters are from a few years later than you want (more like 112 CE), but the emperor was the same. Trajan ruled from 98 - 117. I don't recall him talking about meeting the Emperor in person, but given the intimacy of the letters, he almost certainly had. You might find them interesting. Warning though, he spends a lot of time discussing his houses - he was very, very proud of them. Here's a link to some of them found online, but you can find all of Pliny's letters if you buy order the book. (Looks like its free)